


A Case of Do or Die

by orphan_account



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-28
Updated: 2012-12-31
Packaged: 2017-11-22 17:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/612471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roxy's Place was technically neutral ground, not affiliated with Snowman or Noir or anyone else other than Roxy herself. Officially, in the eyes of those on top and those scavenging at the bottom, Roxy's Place did not exist, which was how its proprietor liked it. Operating in the dark was easier, or at least it had been until her past came back to bite her in the ass one night, in the form of Vriska Serket and two no-good, poorly-dressed hitmen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [leiteru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/leiteru/gifts).



Vriska worked for Snowman. She was about as subtle as a bag of bricks to the face, but when called for she could provide a light touch, which was necessary in her line of work.

She was at Roxy's Place, even though the building was technically neutral ground, not affiliated with Snowman or Noir or anyone else other than Roxy herself. Officially, in the eyes of those on top and those scavenging at the bottom, Roxy's Place did not exist, which was how its proprietor liked it. Operating in the dark was easier, and also less of a hassle all around. Plus she was good at it.

She didn't like Vriska Serket, but nobody did. Not really. Vriska saw to that.

"You don't like me," said Vriska to her one night.

"No," said Roxy, looking up from the column she was adding up in her ledger. She was sitting at a corner table in the lounge.

"I just think it's funny," said Vriska. "You're so...friendly, let's say. With everyone. Every night." Vriska couldn't physically wink after her accident, but Roxy was pretty sure she wanted to. "You drink with everyone. But you never drink with me. Why is that?"

"That would show an appearance of favoritism," said Roxy with a sigh. Her drink was empty and the rows of figures were making her head hurt. "I walk a fine line, Serket." 

"Bullshit. You used to pal around with that Strider guy all the time, and he's so far up the White Queen's ass I'm surprise she's not wearing those dumb anime shades herself."

"Used to," said Roxy, eating the olive at the bottom of the glass. "Used to pal around with him. Maybe what it is, Vriska, is that I don't like drinking with backstabbing sociopaths."

Her one eye lit up. "That's quite the claim!" At this she finally sat down across from Roxy, leaning over the table towards her. The table had a little lamp on it, with a sort of frou-frou tasseled shade that Roxy had never liked. The lamp lit up Vriska's face, so her cheeks swelled with a yellow glow, as well as her eye. "Quite the claim to make, without any evidence."

"Evidence?" asked Roxy, finally setting her pen down and looking Vriska square in the face. "You lost your fucking arm and your eye because you tried to stab your own sister in the back."

"Trolls don't have sisters, dumbass."

"Thats not the way I heard it. I heard that you have a sister. Or had. And she got you, so you blinded her for it. If that's not living proof of how bugfuck you are then I don't know what is."

"Ouch." She sat back, her face sinking into the shadow again, her voice mostly feigning affront. Roxy sensed she was a little bit impressed, and why not? Vriska liked to hear herself talked about. "How'd you hear about that?"

"Friend of a friend," said Roxy. 

"Of course," said Vriska, grinning widely. She hadn't lost any teeth in the accident (or whatever it was) that had destroyed her eye and arm; the smile she gave was still perfectly calibrated. "You've got lots of friends, don't you?"

"Not so many as I used to. Have a good evening," said Roxy. She closed the ledger with a loud creak of the leather and stood up.

The main bar was in the other room. She crossed through the saloon-type double doors into this area. On busy nights they had waiters, but tonight there was only Karkat, tending bar.

"You know, you can do that on computers now," he said as she put the ledger back in its slot beneath the bar.

"Computers? What are those, babe?"

"Ha ha. Seriously, so much of this place you're running here is stuck in the fucking Dark Ages," said Karkat, leaning an elbow on the bar and looking her over. "It's like you're trying to hold true to this bizarre yet antiquated human aesthetic that I just don't fucking understand."

"To you everything is a human aesthetic you don't understand," said Roxy offhandedly, taking out the martini shaker.

"That is a bullshit fucking lie and you know it," said Karkat, glaring. "I have made an extremely thorough and probing study of human culture and you what I have determined? This kitschy little dive of yours sucks. It tries to pretend to be all classy with this 60's airport lounge meets 40's baccarat den vibe but do you think those dives ever rented fucking rooms by the hour like this place does?"

"You're the thorough and probing expert of human culture, Karkat. You tell me." As she spoke, two customers walked up, a thick-set man and a pinch-faced, platinum-blonde woman. By the way they explicitly were not chatting with each other, Roxy guessed the woman was his escort for the night. The man cleared his throat.

Karkat went on. "And then there's your leatherbound Shakespeare folio expense ledger here, like you think you're a fucking 19th century squire or something. And as if that wasn't bad enough, there's the piano in the other room that nobody ever fucking uses. It's all just set dressing for some elaborate fantasy life."

The man behind Karkat cleared his throat even more loudly, and tapped his fingers on the bar. "What was your point?" Roxy asked with a sigh. Karkat did nothing good for a headache, that was for sure.

"Nothing. Fucking...nothing." He gave her a look, one that communicated both pity, contempt, and odd fondness in one expression that basically summed up Karkat Vantas as a person. "I don't know why I even bother. Would you shut the fuck up?" he snapped at the throat clearers. "I can fucking see you. I'll be there in a minute." To Roxy, he added: "Your girlfriend's over there in the corner, by the way." The piteous expression on his face intensified, which annoyed her.

"Oh, I know it," said Roxy. She'd seen Jane Crocker at the corner booth almost as soon as she'd walked through the saloon doors. On a impulse, she changed her mind. She put the shaker back, and instead poured out two shots of vodka before walking over to Jane.

Jane tended to lay it on a bit thick when she came to the Roxy's bar. No one was going to mistake her for a regular. Not that Roxy felt shabby, but Jane dressed like a mix between a wealthy CEO (which she was) and a particularly twee PTA mom (which she was not, and was still way too young to be.) She looked slick, hungry; the red lipstick she wore was the wrong shade for her skin tone. It washed her out, made her look ghost-like or just ill. There had been a time when Roxy could have told her this with confidence, but that time was not now.

"You look nice," said Roxy, setting down the shots in front of Jane's clasped hands. "The little whisk earrings. I like 'em. They're a really nice touch."

"Same to you, I'm sure," said Jane primly. "Is that a cocktail dress or did you wear your slip downstairs mistakenly?"

"We really going to do this?" asked Roxy, eying both shots. "Start taking potshots at each other's outfits 'cause we're pissed off?"

"Hardly," said Jane. "I'm not angry in the least."

"It's all just a bit childish, is all."

"Fine." She finally reached out and took a shot glass. "Let's agree not to act like children for once then."

"Sounds cool," said Roxy, picking up hers. They clinked them and knocked them back. The face Jane made afterwards was still adorable, even now. "How's life as an evil overlord?"

"Really, Roxy?" said Jane, setting down her glass with a clink. "So much for not being childish."

"Not childish. Just facts, ma'am," said Roxy, wishing she had thought of bringing a chaser.

"You do this every time I come here."

"And yet you keep coming back. Although I guess you usually come here to do an evil errand for your boss, huh?"

"That's not true. I'm here on my own free will, as a personal call to you, plenty of times," said Jane. "Because we're still friends, and I worry about you."

Roxy shook her head.

"We are still friends, despite everything that's happened, Roxy," said Jane in a syrupy voice.

"I don't think this is something we should talk about right now," said Roxy. "I'm not in the mood. I notice you didn't say that you're here tonight on personal business."

Jane smiled a practical, shark-like smile that to Roxy did not look at all natural to her face, or her goofy-ass huge teeth. "No. Not tonight. Tonight I'm here on official business. I'm overseeing an arrest." At this, Roxy snorted. "What's so funny?"

"If you start arresting people here, Janey, how are you going to know where to stop? You gonna empty the place out?"

Jane flashed that PTA-meets-Jaws grin again. "Good question. Well, despite the numerous... _activities_ that go on here, they're not really what we're interested in. There are almost certainly bigger fish to fry than this town's endemic small time vice."

"Is that so."

"I happen to know the miscreant we're here to arrest doesn't work here. Tell your...employees to rest easy."

"They're hookers," said Roxy. "They're not supposed to rest easy, it defeats the point."

"Charming." A more Jane-like grimace of distaste at this. "Anyway. The criminal I'm after tonight--"

"I don't know how you can claim that your crew isn't evil," Roxy added without waiting. "You guy's are a private company, you can't just arrest somebody. Us normal folk just call that kidnapping."

Jane grimaced again. "It's...highly irregular. I admit that. But look at the state the city's in! There's crime...everywhere, people are afraid, so BCCorp is stepping in to provide support that the city needs at a dangerous time."

"How selfless."

"Look, I know you believe all the conspiracy theories. I don't even *blame* you, I mean, it probably makes it easier, when you have to live in a place like this." Jane got the worst expression of all when she said this, this liquid look of pity that looked too much like the friend Roxy had once had. Roxy couldn't even stand to look at her, or listen to her go on: "But you have to remember! It wasn't BCCorp who sent Dirk away, it was his own--"

"Can we not?" asked Roxy. "Just...no. Not tonight, Jane. For once. For me?"

Jane backed off the soapbox, and cast a longing glance towards the bar, and for once Roxy agreed. She waved Karkat over.

"You were saying," said Roxy, once the tension had been dispelled by Karkat swearing at them and refilling their glasses.

"Hmm?"

"About the arrest."

"Oh my, yes. The perpetrator is a common thug, one of Snowman's. A very brutal one, supposedly. I doubt you'll lose much sleep over her. I doubt anyone will."

"What did she do, though."

"She stole something. Some important papers from our headquarters."

"What kind of papers?"

Jane delicately sipped at her drink.

"Right," said Roxy. "So basically, you guys are going to arrest her and get her to give back whatever she stole from you, and dole out some grisly mob justice in front of some of us low-lifes out here, to take the burden off our poor, beleaguered police force. Bet Jack Noir himself would be proud of you. You must have learned those tactics from him."

Jane only smiled. "Well, you can see it like that if you want. In any case, it should happen very soon."

"How soon?"

"In the next couple of minutes. The place is surrounded, there's no way she could get away." Jane paused, smiled even wider, so wide the teeth she worked so hard at hiding in normal times peeked out. "I didn't think you'd kick up a fuss. Naturally you wouldn't."

"Who says I won't?"

"Roxy." That tender look again, and Roxy almost blushed. She was, she realized, almost numbly embarrassed for herself.

"Right. You're right. I don't stick my neck out for anyone, do I?"

"You don't," said Jane. "It's true. Once I might have found that surprising, that you could be so discreet, but now I find that it is quite true. If you'll excuse me, Roxy, I have to make a phone call."

Jane went outside, to stand in the hot mist rising off the river and make her call in relative solitude, Roxy supposed. Knowing Jane's thoroughness, Roxy also supposed that Jane was right; there was no way the criminal was getting away, and there was no way the criminal was anybody but Vriska.

She sighed, and thought about trying to do the books again. She ended up making the decision to go upstairs, to her office. There, she knew from experience, she would probably end up drinking her dinner and still failing to do the books. The night was still young, though. So many shitty surprises were still in store. 

To get to the stairs to her office, she had to go through the saloon doors to the lounge, where there were tables, a few couches, her isolated booth from earlier, and of course that damn piano that nobody ever played.

Unsurprisingly, Vriska was still hanging out, at the booth where Roxy had left her. She pounced as soon as she caught sight of Roxy and crouched behind the piano as she spoke. 

"Some people have. The. *Shittiest* luck of everything on this benighted shithole of a planet you got here, Lalonde."

"If you say so," said Roxy, trying to step around her.

"*Trust* me," said Vriska, reaching out with her metal arm to grab Roxy's shoulder. "And just when I thought my luck had turned around. Shit, maybe it has. Maybe it has, finally."

Roxy looked down at the metal hand. It wasn't squeezing her arm, but it could start if she wasn't careful. She waited, and when Vriska just stood there, she prompted her. "Did you have a fucking point? I have some shit to actually get done that doesn't involve listening to maudlin drunk cyborgs."

"Shut up, Lalonde. I need your help." She paused and grimaced; Roxy almost wanted to laugh. "Even though I know you don't like me. Hell, I guess you even got a right not to. But I want you to keep *these*." She opened the long jacket she always wore. Part of Roxy expected to see Vriska draw out a weapon, but a greater part was not very surprised to see Vriska take out several crisply folded pieces of paper. "Know what these are, Lalonde?"

"Hmm?" She tried to keep the curiosity out of her voice, but her eyes had widened upon seeing them, something Vriska would not have failed to notice. 

"They're travel authorization papers."

"Authorization. For what?"

"Leaving the city."

Roxy stared. "Why would--what?"

"They're basically exit papers. For anyone-- and the names on the paper are blank, so it literally could be *anyone*-- to get out of the city. With no bureaucratic intervention." Vriska looked at her shrewdly. "Of course, these would only become necessary if they actually succeeded in shutting the city up. Closing the walls, cutting off our borders."

Roxy shook her head. "Right. How unlikely."

"Of course. But they'd do it. You and I both know they will." Vriska flashed her Trollgate smile again before going on. "Now, smart, awesome ladies like you and me could maybe find our way around whatever weird restrictions the witch at BCCorp lays down. But other people, normal people, may not be so lucky. That's where these papers com in."

"Mmm," said Roxy. Her expression had resolved itself back into neutral.

"Can sell these for a mint. Could use 'em myself. Get out of this shitty-ass town. What do you think, Lalonde?"

"I think I'm wondering why you're still keeping me from my dinner."

"You're going to hold onto these things for me," said Vriska.

"What makes you think that?"

"Because I'm asking you to do it. I need to ditch them until some of the heat dies down."

"How do you know I won't give you up?" Vriska only continued smiling at that one. "Maybe I will use them for myself. You don't fucking know, do you?"

Vriska shook her head. "You don't like me. That's true. But one that's also true about me is that I know cheaters. I know cheaters and *you* don't look like no cheater I ever saw!" Her voice rose slightly at this, but she managed somehow to still maintain a low-key whisper to her words. 

"You saying that so assured-like is tempting me to try, though." She took the papers from Vriska, though, and looked around. No one was there, of course. Everyone was in the bar, and no one was in the lounge, but that did not mean necessarily that no one was watching.

"Hold onto those for me." And then, despite the fact that she had only one eye, she winked at Roxy and disappeared into the next room.

Roxy stared after her. She considered slipping the papers down the front of her dress, then thought better of it. She stared up at the unused, beaten piano, its surface watermarked with rings from customers' drinks. The light brown wood was discolored yellow in places. She stared at it some more before slipping the papers under the matting and walking back to her account books.


	2. Chapter 2

Roxy was in her office when she heard the arrest happen. Or at least, she assumed it was an arrest. She went downstairs with a sigh, supposing she should keep an eye on things, if only for appearances' sake.

By the time she got back down, Jane was talking to several of her guards, and Vriska was nowhere to be seen.

"Well," said Jane. "It went off very smoothly."

"You may get a promotion," said Roxy.

"Roxy! Don't say that." Her smile looked very pleased, though, and Roxy realized with dismay that Jane had taken her seriously. 

Karkat had heard enough of their conversation to tap Roxy on the shoulder and give her a more bitter scowl than usual. "You _knew_ that was about to happen?"

Roxy shrugged as Jane explained. "Roxy is always cooperative enough when I personally request it, but as for official BCCorp business, she remains completely neutral."

"Yeah. That," said Roxy. "Would you get me a drink, Karkat?"

"Shut the fuck up," he said to both of them. "You ratted Vriska out. Didn't you."

"I didn't rat anybody out. Even if I had, what do you even care?" asked Roxy. "You didn't like her, did you?"

"I just hope that when they come for me you'll be a little more fucking helpful," he said with a grimace. He took out a glass and a bottle for her. She reached for it and did not even look at what it was. It occurred to her that Karkat could poison her one of these days and she would not even realize it until too late. 

"If you follow the rules and stay out of trouble, you'll have no reason to be arrested," said Jane. "It's as I told Roxy earlier, I and by extension BCCorp have no desire to punish any of her employees."

"Shut the fuck up," said Karkat with a snarl. "I cannot handle this. Let me guess, Roxy. You're about to tell me how you don't stick your neck out for anyone, right? Give me a break, I'm out of here." He threw down his towel and left the room through the swinging doors.

"What's *his* problem?" asked Jane, shocked but amused.

"His shift's over," explained Roxy. "He likes to make a speech like that every time his shift's over. It's how you know he cares."

"Really, Roxy, you need to work on managing your employees better, I think--"

Before Jane could tell Roxy what she thought, Karkat had re-entered through the doors. "Roxy. Come outside with me."

"Why?"

"I want a cigarette."

"I don't smoke anymore."

"I don't give a shit. Come on."

Jane was giving Roxy a look, that 'I told you so' look that Roxy felt unequal to dealing with that night. Or any night, really. Karkat was being officious, and mysterious, but officious and mysterious were really Karkat's normal state of operating. "I'm going upstairs. I'll see you both later."

"Yes. Good night, Roxy. Thank you for everything."

"Aren't you going home?" asked Roxy. She was curious despite herself.

"Oh, maybe. Maybe I'll stay around here for awhile. There's always something to keep an eye on around here."

"Ugh." Karkat was making noises of disgust in the background, but Karkat was always doing that, really. It failed to alarm Roxy. Plus she knew for a fact that accompanying Karkat on a smoke break was the surest way to get her to fall off the wagon. The tobacco wagon, if not the alcohol wagon. The alcohol wagon had crashed and burned in a flaming pile of wreckage many months ago. When she shrugged at him and made to leave, he made another noise, this one tinged with pity.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked, suddenly annoyed. She wasn't sure what circumstances had connived to make her such a crank-- whether it was the losing her best friends, one way or another, the almost sleepless lifestyle she lived, the fucking alcohol-- but suddenly at that moment, taking her ire out on Karkat seemed to be the easiest way to deal with it. Maybe he was rubbing off on her. "What the fuck is your malfunction? I seriously don't even understand."

He looked at her with regret. "We have to talk. Come outside with me, please, I'll explain--"

Before she could accede, before she could decide if she was even about to, a noise came from the lounge that made her stop in her tracks.

"The fuck?" The noise, which had started out as an inelegant chord, had resolved itself into a tune. Nothing special, nothing fancy. But a tune nonetheless. Someone was playing the piano.

She was swinging through the saloon doors before she could even think. There, on the raised dais, the piano player resolved itself to be Jake English, back in town at last.

****== >** **

Jake and Dirk had left town several months back. No details were available at the time, except for the unassailable fact that they were together at the time, to everyone's surprise. Where they had gone was up for debate, of course. Roxy had not spoken to them since they left. She had, in fact, not expected to see them again. They'd left town after Jane's dad had died, just before Jane had taken her current job. 

Roxy stood there in horror for a second. Jake was playing the piano and Dirk was speaking to him in a low voice, leaning against it. They were still together, apparently. If Roxy didn't feel so angry, angrier than she had in a long time, she might have been surprised about that. She leapt up on the dais for the second time that night, hissing like a cat. 

"The fuck do you think you're doing here?"

Jake stopped playing abruptly. "Oh, hello. Sorry, I...just saw you had the piano that no one was playing and--"

"I don't think she meant the piano, bro," said Dirk, looking Roxy over but not standing up straight. "It was out of tune anyway."

"Yes. Well." Jake pushed the bench back and put his hands on his knees before standing up. He stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, fiddling with his bowtie.

Roxy stood there for a second, taking them in. Jane was in the other room, Jane was only one pair of flimsy doors away from them, but Roxy couldn't help but stare. They were dressed like an odd couple hitman team from a movie, the type of movie Jake was so fond of and Dirk frequently indulged him in. Dirk's suit was sleek, light-colored, and tailored very finely to the lines of his body. attempting to be discreet but still flashy in a way Dirk couldn't help. Dirk was terrible at blending in, and it was only next to Jake that he looked in any way muted. Jake was wearing a bow tie and a double-breasted suit jacket, of all things. And a smile, but Roxy was trying not to look at that.

"What are you doing here?" she said again, less forcefully. 

"Business," said Dirk, but Jake spoke at the same time. "We haven't seen you in months, Roxy!"

"What made you think I wanted to see you again," said Roxy. 

"Well..." He trailed off. 

"You two left town. Like cowards, instead of staying here. Just after Jane's dad died." Roxy paused. "Do you not remember that, Jake?"

"No, I--"

"Roxy thinks we had something to do with it," said Dirk slowly. "Isn't that right."

She found herself clenching the fist of her free hand. "If you're trying to say that you didn't have anything to do with it--"

"We didn't have anything to do with it!" said Jake, but this time Dirk was the one speaking over him. "Maybe we should take this to your office."

"I can't think of a thing I have to say to you that I can't say in public," said Roxy.

Jake's response to this was transparent confusion, but Dirk appeared to understand. "She doesn't trust us, dude."

"But--"

"Jane is here," said Roxy, cutting Jake off and leaving him both hurt and confused. "Jane is in the other room, and if she sees you I don't even know how you expect to deal with it. I don't know how you can just *stand there*--"

"I told you. We're here on business." He finally stood up straight. At long last. "We're looking for someone named Vriska Serket. Know her?"

"Maybe you should have covered your bases a little better," said Roxy. "She's not here."

"Shucks! I guess we better wait then?" Even Dirk looked like he was rolling his eyes at that. Roxy decided that she'd had enough. Instead of going to her office, she went back to the bar, where Karkat hadn't left yet.

"I told you," he said. 

"Hey, that's awesome, shut the fuck up. And where's Jane?"

He nodded to a booth in the corner. "Met up with some people."

Roxy was shaking her head. "I just can't fucking believe the *nerve* of them."

"Is he still working with the White Queen?" asked Karkat, sitting her down at the bar and taking away her glass, which she had been holding in nerveless fingers.

"The fuck should I know?"

"Because. If he is, and if any of Snowman's or Noir's people catch wind of it, we could have trouble."

Roxy groaned and put her head in her hands. "Do I look like I give a shit about stupid gang politics right now? Would you just tell Jane to come over here?"

"I think you're going to have to go over there yourself."

If Roxy had still been holding the glass, she probably would have thrown it down in disgust. "Fine. Here I go."

Jane was in their same booth from before, but not alone this time. Roxy stopped and stared. The troll she was with was a stranger, but that didn't stop her from looking very, very familiar.

Jane turned. "Here's our hostess now. This is Roxy, one of my...my childhood friends."

"Wow, neat," said the troll, who most visibly did not care. "I heard you were talkin' to Serket before Janey and her flunkies nabbed her?"

"This is Meenah. I work with her. She's the empress' protegee."

Protegee and near-clone, or so it appeared to Roxy. Not that Roxy had ever seen much of the empress besides in propaganda photos, but still. "I was."

"Did Serket say anything?"

"I don't know what you mean."

Meenah rolled her eyes. Her hair was a frizzy mass, kinked and wavy and surrounding her face like an electrical storm, which made everything else about her face seem secondary in comparison, excepting her wide mouth and very large eyes. "Something about what she was planning?"

Roxy shrugged. "She works for Snowman. Maybe you should ask Snowman what she was up to."

"I can't. She's dead."

Roxy, who had been plotting as quickly as she could how to get Jane up to speed before Jane heard who was in the other room, started. Without thinking, she sank into the booth, sitting next to Jane. "She's dead. Vriska."

Meenah smirked, her mouth getting wider. "Well, not Snowman. I don't think anyone's figured out how to kill that stone cold fox, try as they fucking might."

"It was an accident," said Jane. "I mean...she was shot, but the guard in question who shot her didn't--"

"Serket was trying to escape," said Meenah, more matter-of-factly, even though she was still smiling. "And given the delicate information she was known to posses, the guards made a categorical fucking decision. They took that bitch out."

"You asshole," said Roxy, who felt sick. 

Jane, to her credit, looked a little abashed. "Meenah. That's not--"

"Doesn't sound much like an accident to me," said Roxy.

Jane winced. "Be that as it may. It does present a complication for you, Roxy."

"How's that."

"Vriska worked for Snowman," said Meenah, cutting of Jane mid-sentence. "If word gets out that she was arrested here, then there could be trouble for you."

Roxy stared. "I kind of doubt that. I don't know of anyone who would cause trouble."

"Oh, trust me," said Meenah, leaning forward slightly. "They're out there."

"They're closer than I think, right?" said Roxy.

"It's possible," said Meenah. "It may be in everyone's best interests that we close y'all down for a few days."

Roxy didn't think it was possible for her to be much madder than she had been upon seeing Dirk and Jake, but apparently this evening was all about her getting an emotional workout in the rage department. "You're joking."

"Before you flip your tits, think about it," said Meenah.

"Yes, that's what I was about to say," said Jane.

"Sure," said Meenah with a snort. "I mean, if the Serket thing gets out, plus once people find out about the wanted fugitives hangin' out in your smoking lounge."

"Yes, I--wait. What?" Jane's eyes widened in confusion, but Roxy, unfortunately, thought she knew what Meenah was getting at.

"The fugitives. The ones who work for the White Queen," said Meenah with a shrug. "Where's the waiter? What do I have to do to get a fuckin' drink around here?"

Jane had mostly forgotten about placating Roxy now. "What fugitives?"

"Didn't I mention them?" Karkat was resolutely ignoring their table, of course, try as Meenah might. "The ones who work for the White Queen. Rumored to be back in town."

"Oh. No you didn't." Jane looked somewhat deflated. She had never spoken to Roxy much about her immediate co-workers unless it was absolutely necessary, and Roxy now saw why. "Who are they?"

"Some douchebags. They were supposed to meet Serket here."

"Oh."

"They didn't meet her," said Roxy. "I just spoke to them. They were looking for her."

"I still don't understand--"

"Jane. We have to talk." Roxy paused, and stared at Meenah, as if glaring at her would make the fucker take the hint and get the fuck away. "It's about Jake and Dirk."

**== >**

The week after Jane's father had died, Roxy had not yet opened the bar. Hell, she'd only been out of high school a week, if that. But Jane's dad died, and instead of being there, Jake and Dirk went on the lam.

Jane's dad dying had remained unsolved. The cops, ineffectual as they were, had blamed "gangland activity," which Jane had believed readily enough. 

Roxy wasn't sure what she believed. It hadn't actually ended up mattering whether she believed Jane's side of the story or Dirk and Jake's, because while Jane never straight out accused Dirk of the crime, Dirk and Jake never denied it, because they remained on the run.

The night they returned to Roxy's, though, Jane insisted on seeing them, and Meenah insisted on going along. 

It was a strange, muted, and horrible interview. Jane accused them of nothing outright, and when Dirk tried to bring up the subject she stopped him.

"I hear you're working for the carapacians now," Jane said to him.

"Just one of them. She doesn't represent all of them," said Dirk, shrugging. They were all gathered around the piano; Jake's suggestion to sit around a table was almost universally ignored. It was an awkward party; Roxy felt like they were the center of the entire room's notice.

"She calls herself the White Queen, though," said Meenah. "I'd say she's a mofo with some pretty high pretensions, wouldn't you?"

Dirk stared at Meenah, then back at Jane. "Sorry. Just who are you again?"

"My coworker," said Jane. "Liaison with the empress."

"Badbass bitch," said Meenah, smiling in a way that was curiously friendly even in how predatory it was. "Nice to meet you both. I think we're gonna get along swimmingly."

Jake, who had been uncharacteristically quiet up to this point, piped up at this. "We've dealt with the empress' flunkies before. I somehow doubt we will be very good friends at all!"

"That's a pity," said Meenah. "Look, the empress' interests are probably just like yours. She just wants what..." Meenah snorted. "What's good for the city." Shit, she could barely keep a straight face as she said it. "Anyway, I know you guys by reputation, if nothing else, so I think we are gonna get along. Janey here's pissed at you 'cause she thinks you had something to do with getting her...shit, what's a human lusus called?"

"A father," said Jane, surprisingly flatly given how intently she was staring at Dirk and Jake.

"Wait. You don't think--" Jake looked surprised, flabbergasted. "Dirk, we don't know anything about--"

Dirk caught Jake's eye, somehow managing to do this even with those dumb shades. Jake fell quiet, and Dirk stared at Jane. "Well, that's something I'd like to talk to her about."

"No," said Jane, flatter still. "I know you, Dirk. And I'm not interested in hearing excuses, or stories. I hear enough of those from Roxy."

Dirk stared at Roxy, for the first time since she had walked up trailing Meenah and Jane. "Do you. What exactly has Roxy been telling you?"

"Enough. She told me about the job you had with the White Queen, and how the White Queen operates. She sees enough of it, after all. I can't believe you got caught up in that racket, Dirk, and that you let Jake get caught up in it too."

Jake went to speak. "Now wait just a darn second here, Janey--"

"I'm not interested in excuses," she said again. "And if I still had the guards from BCCorp here, I'd have you arrested myself."

Roxy bit her lip. It was bad enough to see her threaten Dirk and Jake this way, and worse to be in the middle. Jake made a shocked noise, Roxy tried to interrupt all of them, but Dirk, to Roxy's surprise, was shaking his head at Meenah.

"What the fuck did you *do* to her?" he asked the troll, and Meenah grinned, so widely that Roxy's attention was finally called to the delicate flaps of veined skin on her face. Her fins widened in interest when she took in Dirk.

"Not a thing, bro. And anyway, since you're *not* being arrested, there ain't no reason we can't all of us part as chums, yeah? Now that you're back in the city, I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of each other. Come on, Crocker."

Roxy grabbed Jane's arm. "Wait. Jane, we should talk--"

"Nope," said Meenah, in a strangely blunt tone that was hard to counter with any argument or show of force. Neither was necessary, it turned out; Jane followed her out of the lounge and out the door onto the street.


	3. Chapter 3

Jake was sitting in the chair in front of her desk, while Dirk was behind it. Jake looked nervous; he smiled at her widely and stood up hesitantly, as if he wanted to embrace her and wasn't sure how she would take it. Dirk was looking over some of the items on her desk. Mostly these days she stored a lot of her schlocky wizard shit and pictures of her cats, but Dirk, of course, had picked out the photo of the four of them sitting on the lawn at Jane's house. Of course he had. 

"Surprised I kept it?" asked Roxy, because she couldn't stand to see Jake's wide grin falling into disappointment as she stayed withdrawn from him.

"Of course not," said Dirk. "We all look damn fine in this pic. Jake's hair is even not doing that stupid thing it usually does."

"Hey--"

"What are you doing here," said Roxy wearily. "Both of you. Are you looking to get killed?"

"Danger is our business, Miss Lalonde," said Jake.

"You got that off a movie poster," she said, going around the desk and ignoring Dirk to get a bottle out of the drawer. 

"Nothing for us, thanks," said Dirk.

"Wasn't offering," said Roxy, taking out a glass for herself.

"Roxy, that's not very courteous of you," said Jake. "I'm surprised." The horrible, wonderful thing about Jake was that he obviously was surprised. She rolled her eyes.

"But we're here on business," said Dirk. "Obviously. So don't bother with the niceties."

"Wasn't offering that either," she said, but it was a sentence mostly whispered into her glass.

"We need to talk about what's happened. Here in the city." Dirk hesitated, but she only eyed him over her glass. "They've going to lock it down. You realize that, don't you? Maybe Jane hasn't let you in on the gritty details, but the witch is losing it. She's losing her grip by the day, so what other option is there to but to lock the city down?"

"So I've heard," said Roxy. "I'm just wonderin'...you know, what the point of all it is. What's she want."

"I'm sure we wouldn't know anything about that," said Dirk as Jake chuckled.

"She's looking for us, Roxy," said Jake. "Dirk wouldn't want me to tell you this, but it's true, and I know you won't tell anybody."

"Tell anybody what," asked Roxy, sitting down.

"Never mind," said Dirk. "Jake's right, though. The witch is going to be looking for our heads once she...well, once she puts some things together."

"So what brings you back to tell me this story all of a sudden," said Roxy.

Jake stared, looking hurt. "It's been so long since we've seen you, Rox. And..."

"And we know you have the transit papers," said Dirk.

Jake winced. "That's...not exactly how I would have put it. But yes. That's part of it."

"What makes you think I do?" said Roxy, stalling for time.

"Roxy." Dirk looked at her. "I know you. And I know Serket, at least by reputation."

"Knew," said Roxy. "You knew her."

"Yeah. And I know that you wouldn't let that kind of opportunity go to waste. They weren't on her when she died, and she had no one else she could have trusted."

"So."

"So," said Jake. "So, uh...are you going to give them to us?"

Roxy stared. "What do you think?"

"Why not?" She could have groaned, too, at his honest befuddlement. "I mean, you don't think--"

"She thinks we had something to do with Jane's dad being shot," said Dirk.

"Did you not get that, dude?" she asked Jake.

"No, I--"

"Never mind." Dirk cut both of them off. "It's not important. You don't believe it, though, Roxy."

There was a pause which said just about everything there was to say. "Why shouldn't I?" asked Roxy. "How could you guys just...disappear like that? You left us all alone and you didn't even--"

"Dirk said he spoke to you," said Jake, cutting her off. "He said he told you where we were going."

They both looked at Dirk, who stared back at them blankly, without embarrassment but also without excuses. "He lied," said Roxy simply.

"Given where Jake and I had to go," said Dirk, "it was necessary. I'm sorry I didn't leave time for us to leave a note. Guess I just was more concerned about our safety, and yours if someone found out you'd been in contact with us."

"You're such a douche," said Roxy, shaking her head. "Both of you, I don't even--"

"I can't believe you'd let something like that prejudice you against what _actually matters_ ," persisted Dirk. "You must realize the batterwitch is bad fucking news, that she's here to colonize this planet as quick as she fucking can. You're not Jane, you haven't been brainwashed with her BCCorp bullshit since you were a kid."

"Of course not," said Roxy. "But--"

"But nothing. You must realize what you're doing to her, by letting her be led around by the empress like this."

"She's not a fucking child," said Roxy. "I can't lead her around everywhere. Maybe that's something _you_ should be learning how to do."

Her tone was so strident that even Jake saw what she was getting at. "Hey, come on now. I'm not..."

"I'm not leading Jake around," said Dirk. "We are definitely _not_ children."

The tension in the room rose considerably at this. Roxy tried to say something, Jake looked like he might have wanted to, but it was Dirk who spoke. "So. As we were saying. About business. Jake and I, very shortly, are going to have to be able to leave the city, sans hassle."

"Tough shit," said Roxy. "Get out of my office."

To her surprise, they both did, with a minimum of argument. Jake paused at the door, but eventually followed after Dirk.

**== >**

The next morning she woke blearily, with her head on her desk and a pounding headache. She didn't even remember falling asleep and, pathetically, she hadn't even been that drunk. For a second she kept her eyes closed and wondered what had woken her up, before she heard the noise.

Jane was standing there. "I let myself in."

"That appears to be a new fad."

"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up."

"I'm _fine_ ," said Roxy, but she let herself be led upstairs to the bathroom. Her face stung and her head pounded, and she wondered if one had led to the other. Her head swam at the light of morning, and she wondered, briefly, if she had a fever.

If Jane had any compunctions about using a bathroom in a whorehouse, she didn't let any of them show on her face, or at least not enough for Roxy to notice. In the mirror, however, Roxy's attention was caught by her own reflection, and the angry red mark on her forehead. She had cut herself on a sharp edge, maybe a metal corner of something, and had not even realized it. "Shit."

"No, sit down." She pushed Roxy down on the toilet and started dabbing away at the cut. "You need to stop drinking."

Roxy focused on holding her breath and watching Jane's intent features as she worked. "If my breath didn't smell so bad I would kiss you," she said, when Jane went to the sink for a bandage.

"Shush," said Jane. 

"I would. I so would." To prove it, she grabbed one of Jane's hands, one of Jane's clean, brown hands with neatly trimmed nails, and pressed the fingertips to her own lips. Jane made a "tch!" noise of disapproval, but did not pull away. She straightened up and pushed Roxy's hair from her forehead, which could have been a caress and could have been to get a better view of the wound.

"Did you talk to Jake and Dirk?" she asked.

Roxy dropped her hand. "Maybe. I might have." Her heart sped up. "Why?"

"Meenah's having them arrested today. Is all." She placed the bandage on Roxy's forehead with almost professional correctness. "Better?"

"No. I...what the hell. I thought--"

"They're criminals," said Jane. "I know they still seem like they should be our friends, but--"

"No, Jane. Jane, you can't let them--look, Meenah is fucking evil and you must know it. If she arrests them , then--"

"I thought you weren't interested in discussing this," said Jane, straightening up.

"Well, now I am. Jane, the empress you're working for is a fucking tyrant in disguise. Everyone in the city knows it except you, I swear to fucking god."

Jane stood up. "I realize you feel that way. But I can't--"

Roxy stood up on wobbly legs. "I know. I know I can't convince you. You couldn't be convinced unless you saw it for yourself, right?"

"Exactly," said Jane, flushing. "I would have thought you realized that by now."

Roxy hesitated. She wasn't sure if she wanted to witness the arrest or not. It was the sort of thing she liked to avoid, usually. Dirk and Jake undoubtedly knew it was coming, but she thought that hope that she would relent about the transit papers would make them come back regardless. Her place was one of the few neutral places in town, after all.

"That reminds me," said Roxy. "I suppose you're searching the place right now for those papers."

Jane nodded. "We haven't found them yet. She hid them well."

"Maybe I hid them."

"Maybe you did. We'll find them anyway. What?" Roxy, to Jane's and her own surprise, had started crying.

"I want you to be one of the good guys," said Roxy. "I don't want you to be one of them anymore. I just..."

"It's alright." Jane patted her back, and of course it was not alright even in the slightest. She let Jane lead her to bed, and if she hadn't hidden the transit papers in her bra the night before she might have been worried about Meenah and Batterwitch directing a search of her place.

**== >**

Dirk and Jake were back that night. Instead of coming through the front way, they went through the back, where the bedrooms for the workers in the brothel were. 

"How did you know which one was my room?" she asked.

"Unerring instinct," said Dirk. 

"We've discussed overnight," said Jake. "And we're not going to leave the city."

"Oh. Ok?" She took both of them in. When they'd first walked in last night, they had appeared as one unit, but further examination had proved that there were cracks between them. Dirk was still Dirk, secretive and plotting and still trying to direct matters in the direction he wanted, and Jake certainly wasn't exempt from being directed. Now, however, they appeared more as one unit. They had regrouped.

"We think you should take the papers. Get Jane out of here," said Dirk.

"It's the right thing to do," said Jake. "We've decided. After consideration."

"Yeah. Ok." She looked at both of them. "What are you going to do then?"

"Shift for ourselves. Like we've been doing for the last year," said Dirk. "Don't worry. Wouldn't you like to leave with her?"

Roxy thought about the papers, folded tightly beneath her bra strap and waiting for her signature to get her and Jane out of that fucking city. "Yeah. I..."

"Yeah. Don't worry." Dirk nodded. "I don't know if she'll listen to us, but she'll listen to you."

"I think you're overestimating me. I don't think she'll listen." Roxy hesitated. "You do know what--"

"Yeah, we know," said Dirk. "She wants to arrest us."

"I told you, Roxy," said Jake. "We live in danger. We expect it!"

"Shut up. Let's just...god. Let's go face this."

Meenah and Jane were downstairs. Meenah was announcing that the bar and "associated places" (truly the best euphemism for a whorehouse Roxy had ever heard) were closing down for the night. The workers (which consisted of both the sex workers and the bartenders; Karkat was back) were watching bemusedly, and the customers were filing out.

Meenah turned to Dirk and Jake as they entered. "Gonna go quietly, fuckers?"

Dirk and Jake looked at each other, and then at Meenah. "What are we going quietly for?"

"For killing Jane's...thing."

"Father," said Jane, Dirk, Roxy, and Jake at once.

"They didn't do it," said Roxy. "If anybody did, it was the Batterwitch. The only thing they're guilty of," she said, looking at Jake and Dirk, "is being douchebag friends who didn't help Jane when she needed it most."

Jane was staring. "What? You don't--"

"Does it fucking matter?" asked Meenah, rolling her eyes. "Jane doesn't fucking care, she just needs to--" Before she could finish, Jane had drawn out her fork, the weapon she carried when she was on duty. She struck Meenah over the head, something Meenah, normally prepared for all things, had not seen coming. The four of them stared at the unconscious troll on the ground. Even Dirk looked shocked.

"Why did you do that?" asked Dirk. "I don't--"

"What happened to my dad?" asked Jane. "Tell me. Right now."

"I don't know. I--I--"

"Fine." She turned on Roxy. "Do you know?"

And finally, after months of not seeing the Jane she had once known in her friend's face, Roxy did. "They killed him, Jane. They killed him and I didn't know how to prove it to you. None of us did, but...we're your friends and you just have to trust us. Please trust us."

And, remarkably, instead of Jane's usual obstinacy in the face of Roxy's pleas, Jane only nodded, and this time it was Jane whose tears were leaking over her face, and Jake and Dirk looked relieved, but confused.

"You're going to leave town," said Jane to Dirk and Jake. "Both of you. Understand?"

Dirk and Jake looked at each other, before nodding assent. "Jane," said Dirk. "I'm sorry. We should have--"

"It doesn't matter," said Jane. "Once Roxy and I fix things here, we'll come too. Won't we?"

Roxy felt close enough to crying too, but she nodded. She withdrew the transit papers from her bra and gave them to Dirk and Jake.

Six months earlier, Roxy had opened the bar because her best friends were gone, and the woman she loved was mired in trouble that Roxy did not know how to extricate herself from. When Jane finally woke up, though, Roxy found it easy enough to leave the bar behind, and run away with Jane to follow Jake and Dirk, evading capture by the Batterwitch's drones in general and Meenah in particular. When Roxy left, she left an apologetic note for Karkat in the ledger, and did not look back.


End file.
